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Dreaming big in 2017 …….

So it’s January, the start of another year, and I’ve been spending time over the festive break looking back over 2016, and making plans for 2017. I’m very excited about this coming year – I have lots of plans, both for the business and for myself! (In fact, I have more or less stopped separating “business” and “personal” goals – when you work from home on a creative business they just end up inextricably entwined!).

So, this year I have made myself a vision board and I thought I would share it with you, and talk you through it!

Here it is – it’s rather large and as yet I haven’t managed to find wall space by my desk to hang it up! But I also have a copy of it set as my desktop wallpaper, so I do get to see it every day.

So, what’s on there then? A right mish mash of stuff! Lots of pictures of me for starters. Which may seem a little odd! But the thing is, I had a really great, adventurous year in 2016. A lot of this was down to my glaucoma diagnosis at the end of 2015 – I really threw myself into life in 2016, stopped putting off things I wanted to do and aimed to live life to the full! So when I was making this vision board, a large part of my vision for 2017 was: more of the same, please! I guess I am also very lucky in that I am already living my Big Dream. Five years ago we sold up, chucked our boring accountancy jobs and moved here from Southampton. So I am already doing lots of things that are making dreams come true: I live in the most beautiful place, surrounded by mountains, lochs and trees; I have a wonderful husband and am blessed with incredible friends; I am self-employed doing work that I love and am able to work from home. So a large part of my vision board includes photos of stuff I am already doing: again, more of the same, please! And when I was looking online for images to convey hillwalking and adventures, none of them seemed as appropriate or made me as happy to look at, as the photos I had of my own hillwalking and adventures in 2016. So anyway, that’s why my vision includes so much of me. LOL.

So, let me walk you through it in more detail ……

Here at the top we have a photo I took while on the West Highland Way at Glencoe. It sums up so many things that are important to me and my vision for 2017: Scotland, having adventures, being out in nature, and mountains! I want lots more beautiful Scottish scenery in my life in 2017 🙂

Next up, cycling! I used to do quite a lot of cycling a few years back. Then I came off my bike in a nasty fall, bruised my ribs really badly and was in pain for weeks and unable to do much of anything. So I kind of got scared and never really got back to riding my bike again. But I love cycling: it’s great exercise, it gets me outdoors into nature, and it’s something that Dave & I can do together as he’s a keen cyclist too. (Of course he has to go at half his usual pace when he’s out with me, but he claims not to mind!). Anyway, I tentatively ventured back on my bike towards the end of 2016, managing a few rides with Dave, and really enjoyed it. So, one goal for 2017 is to do more cycling. And one of my more concrete goals is to ride a particular route around Wigtown that is 25 miles. The furthest I cycled in 2016 was 16 miles, so that seems a doable challenge. I suspect not much cycling will happen until later in the year though – I’m still too chicken to go out if the roads are wet or frosty!

Next on the board is a photo from the opening day at our lovely gallery! Last spring Dave & I opened our own wee gallery in our back garden, Gallery Sia Tri. It houses his gorgeous photography and my jewellery. Getting the gallery built (obviously, Dave did that part as I am completely clueless with such things!) and opened was an big achievement and something to celebrate in 2016. But, we didn’t really get a huge amount of visitors. Which was to be expected as we are (a) new, so not that many people know about us yet and (b) kind of in the middle of nowhere 😉 But, we want to build up the numbers and get more people visiting in 2017. So that is a big goal. We will be out delivering flyers all round the region before the summer season in a bid to get the word out that we are here (and you know, if you happen to be reading this and know of any touristy places where you can put flyers for us, let me know! We’d be very grateful!).

And finally on this bit is a quote I printed off which speaks for itself really ….. I am very grateful for all these things, and it’s good to be reminded of how blessed I am, even when I’m having a bad day!

Here’s the next bit of the board. At the top, a reminder to Dream Big! With lots of butterflies, just cos I fell in love with this pretty washi tape!

The photo underneath is to remind me to meditate. In 2016 I did an online mindfulness course and it’s really no exaggeration to say it has changed my life. I want to make sure I continue my daily practice of meditation into 2017.

Next to that is a photo of my stand at the 2016 Crafts for Christmas show in Glasgow. I’ve done this show twice now; it’s the biggest one I have ever done, and it’s been very successful for me. So in 2017 I have decided to also do Crafts for Christmas in Birmingham. This is a huge step for me, as it involves not only the cost of the show but also travel (a 600 mile round trip!) and paying for accommodation while I’m there. But I’m hoping it will really take my business forward and put my work in front of a whole load of new people. So it’s a big goal and focus for 2017 – not least because it’s straight after the Glasgow show, so I will need to work hard to build up enough stock for both shows beforehand. And of course there is my lovely squirrelly logo which just makes me happy 🙂

Next up – lots of loveliness in this bit! Starting from the left ….. here’s a photo of me and my lovely friends Tara & Jayne paddling in the sea during a trip we took to the Highlands in September. This is to remind me to do more stuff like this in 2017 – adventures, travel, being outdoors, and quality time with people I love.

Next to this is a photo of some delicious vegetables …. in 2016 I really made the effort to prioritise looking after my health and to nourish my body with good food. I never thought I would be the sort of person who drank green vegetable juice, but now I actually am! and I even enjoy it! So this is a reminder to continue that in 2017. Lots of vegetables, fresh food, and very little processed junk food and sugar.

To the right of the we have the Yes2 logo …. most of you who know me, know that I am passionate about Scottish independence and political activism. I’m the Women’s Officer for my local SNP branch, and devote a fair bit of my time to it. I want to continue this in 2017 – Dave & I are planning to go to the SNP conference in March, and we’ll help out with campaigning for the upcoming council elections.

Back to the left …. here’s a photo to inspire me as to what I want my workspace to look like! At the moment it is very cramped, cluttered and messy (hence, nowhere to hang my vision board!). I share an office with Dave, but as my business has grown it has inevitably taken up more space and I have found myself dreaming about having my own work space! I’m not entirely sure yet how we will make this happen – possible Dave will move his desk and computer upstairs to the room where he does all his photo mounting and framing, and leave me the downstairs office to myself. Anyway, eventually I would like my workspace to look like this – uncluttered, colourful and peaceful!

To the right of that we have a small photo of me on the top of Cairnsmore – I love this photo cos I just look so at home up there on the top 🙂 Underneath and to the right is one of my favourite photos of me & Dave, taken at Glencoe on our trip in September. LOTS more of this in 2017, please! And underneath that is a photo of Callanish on the Isle of Lewis. I have wanted to visit this magical place ever since I read the book “Callanish” when I was a kid – I never dreamed back then that I would end up living in Scotland and falling in love with it! So we are planning to take a trip there in May and I’m hoping we will be able to camp near the stones – I want to wake up and watch the sun rise over them. Finally in the bottom right corner is another photo of me on Day 6 of the West Highland Way, on top of the cairn on the summit of Creag Dhubb …. just a magical, magical place!

Back to the top right corner now and here we have a photo of me on Day 7 of the West Highland Way – this was such an amazing, magical experience in 2016 that I just want to remind myself to do more of the same in 2017! I do have a specific goal in mind which is to walk the Affric-Kintail way with Dave – the plan is to do that in May, and then head off to Lewis afterwards. I want to make the effort to do some weekend trips too – just lots more being out in nature and in the mountains!

On the right, another quote that I love and is such a good reminder ….. life really doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.

Then we have a yoga photo. Yoga was another practice I started in 2016 and has done me lots of good – I don’t do much, but I try to do 10 minutes a day. It definitely helps to loosen me up, and I find I get less aches and pains when I do it regularly. So my goal for 2017 is to do 10 minutes every day … in reality of course I have already missed a day or two! but I want to get into the habit of it being something I do as often as possible.

Next to that – Etsy! A big goal for my business this year is to start selling on Etsy. This one is funny, because I was looking online for an image I could print off for this, and saw this one and thought it said 100 sales which seemed a reasonable target. After I’d printed it I realised it was 1000! So I went back to look for a 100 image, but couldn’t find any I liked. So I stuck with this one – maybe the universe’s way of telling me to remember to Dream Big!

Finally the last bit! Not much to talk about here really …. first up, yet another picture of me being happy up a hill 🙂

Underneath that is a running photo – running is definitely a goal for 2017. I am so NOT a natural runner – I am super slow and I struggle to build up any sort of distance. But I want to persevere with it because it’s great exercise, it gets me outside, and it’s a good way of doing both of those things when I’m short of time and can’t afford to spend a couple of hours going for a long walk. So, even though, as they say, I am slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter (I actually might buy one of those t-shirts, cos they make me giggle) I want to stick with it. My goal for 2017 is to run 10k. I ran 5k in 2016 (and when I say ran, obviously I mean jogged very very slowly, at a turtle-like speed) so hopefully this should be an achievable goal if I just stick at it and gradually build up my distance.

And last but not least, another reminder to listen to my body, treat it kindly, nourish it with good food and exercise and rest when it needs it! The glaucoma diagnosis has truly reinforced to me that health is the most important thing we have; all those things that I enjoy – walking, running, climbing mountains, crocheting, playing my ukulele – they require a healthy, functioning body for me to do them!

So there we have it, my vision board for 2017. Have you done a vision board for this year? If so I’d love to see it – please share!

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2 thoughts on “Dreaming big in 2017 …….”

Wishing all the luck in 2017, especially with Etsy. I’m thinking of trying that this year too. They actually will be sending 4 simple e-mails to walk you through the process starting Jan 30th You can sign up for them at https://www.etsy.com/resolution . I did.